NEW DELHI: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has extended her warm congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his historic achievement of becoming India’s longest-serving continuously elected Prime Minister. The Italian leader lauded the milestone, describing it as a testament to PM Modi’s enduring leadership and using the occasion to reaffirm the rapidly growing partnership between the two countries.
“Congratulations to Narendra Modi who today becomes the longest-serving elected Prime Minister in the history of India. It has been a pleasure to meet again in Rome in recent weeks and to launch together a Special Strategic Partnership that looks to the future to create new opportunities for our Nations and our peoples,” Meloni shared in a post on X.
Elevating Bilateral Ties
The congratulatory message follows PM Modi’s highly successful official visit to Italy in May. During that visit, both leaders made a landmark decision to elevate the existing India-Italy Strategic Partnership to the status of a Special Strategic Partnership, marking a significant and dynamic step forward in their bilateral relations.
During official talks held in Rome on May 20, the two Prime Ministers comprehensively reviewed the progress achieved under the Joint Strategic Action Plan 2025-2029. They welcomed the strong momentum generated by recent high-level exchanges and the growing diversification of their cooperative efforts.
Broadening the Scope of Cooperation
To sustain this momentum, PM Modi and PM Meloni agreed to institutionalise annual meetings between the two Prime Ministers, including scheduling talks on the sidelines of major multilateral events, while simultaneously enhancing engagements at the ministerial and institutional levels.
The extensive discussions in Rome covered a broad spectrum of strategic, technological, and economic areas, including:
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Trade and Investment
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Defence and Security
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Science, Technology, Research, and Innovation
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Space Cooperation and Artificial Intelligence
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Energy and Critical Technologies
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Education, Culture, and People-to-People Exchanges
